


Heart Swap

by ZZ_Chikorita



Series: Jolly Rogers [11]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Backstory, Broken Bones, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Flashbacks, Gen, Hawaiian Character, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury Recovery, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23725219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZZ_Chikorita/pseuds/ZZ_Chikorita
Summary: Guzma (age 9) gets his arm checked out with his friend's help.
Relationships: Guzma & Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui, Guzma/Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui
Series: Jolly Rogers [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680463
Kudos: 43





	Heart Swap

**Author's Note:**

> Ch. 11

Kukui began to lead Guzma toward the bedroom door, but Guzma wouldn't budge.

"It's locked..." Guzma mumbled.

"Well, unlock it."

"From the outside..."

"The door to your bedroom only locks from the outside? Dude, that's messed up."

"It is?" 

Kukui rubbed his brow. 

"Ok then... Out the window." 

He jumped out and then helped his friend pull himself through. Guzma stumbled a little bit on the landing but Kukui let him lean into him in order to steady himself. He winced when he accidentally leaned too far into his swollen arm. 

"Skrr krr..." chirped Wimpod in concern. 

Kukui reached up and scratched the little isopod. 

"Don't worry, Brother, we'll get him fixed up." 

The boys made their way down to the pier. The next ferry would be another fifteen minutes so they sat down on the side of the docks, their feet dangling just above the water.

Guzma was still very pensive and refusing to look at his friend. He had pulled the empty sleeve into the pocket on the front of his shirt so that, at first glance, it looked like he just had his hand in the pouch.  
Kukui noticed that his forehead was beginning to bead up with sweat underneath the dark hood. There's no way he's not dying of heat in that thing. 

"Guzma, why don't you take your hood off?" Kukui asked gently, reaching his hand up towards it. But Guzma leaned away.

"No. I hate my hair. It's stupid..."

The boy with glasses responded by scooting closer and resting his head on the hooded boy's shoulder. Guzma pulled the strings on his shirt to cinch the hood closer to his face. They watched the waves roll by and some pelippers fly close to the surface to scoop up beak-fuls of water and prey. 

"Do you believe in the Curse of Po?" asked Guzma, muffled by the neck of his hoodie. 

"Those are just silly ghost stories, Guzma. They have zero scientific backing. So, no. I do not."

Wimpod had crawled down onto Kukui's outer shoulder and whispered something in the ear not resting on Guzma's shoulder. 

"I see..." 

Guzma glanced toward him.

"Wimpi wants me to remind you," Kukui continued, putting an arm around Guzma's shoulders, "that your hair is the coolest because it's different than everyone else's and that if you were going to steal my soul, you would've done it a loooooong time ago."

Guzma turned his head and raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"Really? Wimpod said all that?" Guzma asked sarcastically.

"Well... what he actually said was _'skrr ka krr akka'_ , but I knew what he meant."

Guzma couldn't help but chuckle into the front of his sweatshirt. Kukui took the opportunity and gently tugged the hood off the back of his head. He ruffled up the snow white hair. Guzma didn't resist.

"See?" smiled Kukui, "You should never hide such cute hair under hoods and hats!"

Guzma head-butted his friend in the arm.

"Stop doing that, you dork!"

They were so lost in their conversation, they didn't even notice the ferry pull up at the end of the dock. They sprung up and walked on over.  
Guzma returned Wimpod to his pokéball and they flashed the Captain their island passes as they boarded. All Alola residents are allowed to move freely between the islands, which is convenient when you're a couple of penniless kids. 

To Guzma's relief, the cabin had the air-conditioning on full blast. They found a couple seats next to each other by the window. Thankfully, it wasn't particularly busy today. 

"I'll be right back," said Kukui jumping up from the seat. Guzma messed with the strings of his hoodie while he waited. 

"Here you go!" 

Kukui was holding out something in a foil wrapper. He must have bought it over at the little café all the ferries have. 

Guzma humbly took it. It felt pleasantly warm in his hands. Kukui retook his seat. He was holding another, smaller thing wrapped in foil. 

"They only had one big malasada left, so I got it for you!"

Guzma carefully unwrapped it and just held it in his hand, the sight of the delicious golden, brown treat was too much for the young boy to handle. He started to sob quietly into his sleeve. 

Kukui put his arm around him again.

"Hey, c'mon now my brother..." Kukui said softly, "You gotta eat it before it gets cold. Ain't you hungry?"

Yes. There was no more ignoring the clawing, twisting pain in Guzma's stomach. For three days he's had nothing but the little bit of food his mom snuck in to him. 

He nodded and took as big a bite as he possibly could. Silent tears continued streaming down his face as he chewed. Kukui said nothing more, he just tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder. 

~~~

Before they knew it, they had arrived on Akala and were making their way to the Pokémon Center just passed Lush Jungle.

Wimpod was riding, and sleeping, in Guzma's lowered hood. 

At last, they arrived at the back door of the center, which was nestled next to an old motel.

Kukui, knocked on the door. 

The boys looked at each other after a minute with no response. Kukui knocked again, but a lot louder.

"I hear ta door! No need go knockin' til ta night come!"

There was a *kerchunk* of a lock and the door swung open. 

A young woman, probably in her mid to late twenties, with dark eyeliner, purple eyeshadow, and hot pink hair stood, arms crossed, in the doorway. 

"Ah, it you kanakas. Howzit?"1

"Hi Auntie!" Kukui said excitedly. 

She grabbed and pinched his ear.

"Who you callin' Auntie?! I ain't dat older! You lookin' fo' beef, lolo? I no go uni fo' eight years to put up with no fresh talk like dis!"2

"Ow! ow! I'm sorry D.J.! I'm just fooling! Let us in!"

All the commotion had woken up Wimpod. He scurried up Guzma's head and jumped toward the woman, who released the whining boy and caught him in a loving embrace.

"Tere's dat lil bruddah! Ya miss me Wimpod?"  
She looked back at the boys.  
"A'ight, get in dere," she said motioning for the boys to follow her as she nuzzled the Bug type.

The back room of the Pokécenter was dimly lit but a window let in some sunlight. There were a few fans strewn about to try and circulate the humid, Alolan air. In the center of the room was a metal examination table.

"Front n' centah, lil bruddahs. What ta problem?" she asked, tapping a black polished nail on the metal surface.

Both boys sat up on the table as D.J. pulled a white lab coat over her black tank top.  
She sure had an interesting fashion sense for a doctor. The adults on the island don't like her much. They say she dresses like a punk girl and that it's unprofessional. She also has a reputation of being a tita.3 Guzma never really understood it. Ever since he first met her, he thought she was really pretty...

"Some time before te daylight come, boys."

Guzma glanced at Kukui who nodded at him.

"Sister, we need you to look at Guzma's arm. I think it's broken," Kukui explained as Guzma pulled off his sweatshirt.

"TA-PU-LE-LE!"4 she exclaimed at the sight of his swollen arm, "G., ta fuck did ya do te yo'self?" 

Guzma looked away and Kukui scowled.  
She's not a mean person but her personality is a bit... abrasive. She's also not exactly known for her bed side manner. Regardless, her 'don't mess with me' attitude is something Guzma has always admired.

She gently removed the arm from the sling and examined the swelling.

"How long it been? Can ya turn te wrist?"

"Three days... not really..." Guzma mumbled. 

She turned toward Kukui as she said, "I tink you right, I gon' do te X-ray." 

She pulled out a lead vest from a drawer and ushered Kukui off the table.  
His face quickly changed from frustration to dread as he stepped back and observed just how many more scars and bruises were scattered all over his friend's pale body.

She pulled down a mechanical arm from the ceiling.

"Lay yourself," she instructed, patting the metal table. She laid the vest on top of him and pulled his arm out straight onto the table, causing him to wince.

"Come now K.K., to te uddah room," she said, handing him Wimpod and pushing him out.  
After a moment, they were back in the room. Kukui was sitting next to his friend once more and D.J. was at an old-looking, tube computer at the side of the room. 

"Here's te problem," she said pointing to a spot on the screen, "Ya got dis oblique, displaced fracture on te ulna."

The two of them just kind of looked at her.

"It means ya arm fucken broken, ya numbskulls." She tapped at a few other white spots on the screen and continued, "Look like ya got some foreign bodies, too. I'll take a look."

She opened a box, retrieving a pair of forceps and a pair of tweezers. She also pulled out a magnifying glass, a bottle of some light blueish liquid, and a big stack of gauze squares from another drawer. She kicked off the floor, wheeling her office chair back over to the table. 

"Hold dis K.K.," she said, handing Kukui the magnifying glass. He jumped down and positioned himself so that he could hold the glass for her.  
She slowly began undoing the bled through dressing on Guzma's arm. He held his breath while bracing from the sharp pain.

"Breathe litto bruddah, breathe," she said calmly. Kukui let Guzma grab hold of (and crush) the hand not holding the magnifying glass. 

"Got te admit, ya did nice on ta dressing. Te wound real clean fo' t'ree days too. Te good Unko on the berry farms taught ya well,"5 -she looked over at Kukui- "Our bruddah a quick learnah. I teach him how do all ta dressing and splinting. And he remebah it too!"

Guzma blushed at the unexpected praise and Kukui squeezed his hand and smiled. 

"Pau," she announced setting the bloodied forceps down next to three shards of metal.6

"Now," she said leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs, "I can get ya arm fixed up no problem... But I won't do it-"

"Wait! Why?!" snapped Kukui.

"Shut te mout and listen to te words I speak, lolo." she snapped back, "I won't do it unless..." -she turned to Guzma- "ya tell me what faka do dis ta ya."7

Guzma reflexively put his good arm across his mouth and looked away.

"You know who did it..." he murmured.

"Yes, but I need te hear it from you. You don't admit it, den he wins. He wins because he put ta fear in you! I doubt ya even told ya friend here what happen to ya, no?"

Guzma looked down at Kukui's dark eyes which were wide with confusion and concern. He looked back over to the young doctor.

"Bad folk break te body 'cuz dey cannot break ta spirit. Show to me dat te spirit still whole, still strong."

He swallowed hard.

"And no go say some T.S. ya fall out te tree or someting. Ta fracture of te ulna but no radius a clear _defensive_ injury."

Guzma's jaw quivered as he tried to speak.

"Who did dis?" she asked again.

"My dad..." he answered quietly. 

"And what he do?"

"H-hurt me..." He was choking back tears

"How?" the pink haired woman demanded.

"D.J. please-" Kukui began to plead, seeing how much distress his friend was in. But Guzma squeezed his hand tighter, signalling him to stop.

"My dad hit me with his club!" the white haired boy said much more forcefully, "He hit me! and then again. And again. And again. And again! And... I heard a crack... and a snap. The head broke off and... then there was blood! There was so... much... blood... And..."

He stopped as the woman buried his face into her shirt. Then there were only muffled sobs.

"Hush now bebbeh, dat's enough. You did it. You survived. You won."

Kukui jumped back up onto the table and wrapped his arms around Guzma's torso from the back, letting his cheek rest on his friend's white hair.

She let the young boy cry into her chest for several minutes, allowing him decide when he was done. 

Once he caught his breath and pulled away, D.J. leaned down and pressed her forehead against his.

"A'ight den. Let's get ya fixed up, eh?"

She explained to the boys about displaced fractures and how they needed to realign the bones for them to heal properly. She explained that the process, without anesthesia, was going to be very painful. 

Guzma screamed out as she yanked the bone back into place. Kukui held on tight to him to keep him from moving too much. 

"Breathe my bruddahs, breathe," she reminded the boys as she set up for another X-ray.

The X-ray confirmed that the break was back in the correct place, allowing the boys to sigh in relief that she didn't have to continue messing with the arm. 

Next, she stitched up the open wound after flushing it with a disinfectant.

"Next ting I teach ya G. will be ta stitch. It ta hardest skill te teach n' learn, I tink. Ya practice on fruit ta begin. Sitrus berries work good... Pau. No move just yet." To the boys surprise, she unclipped a pokéball from her belt. 

"Now listen my words," she said, looking at them both sternly, "Ta standard procedure fo' a break like dis ta have surgery. Put screws in ta bone te hold it. But... tere another way." She tossed the pokéball into the air. A blissey emerged from the glowing light. 

"It illegal ta use healing moves on human. So ya got te promise ya will keep ya mouts shut."

"But, why is it illegal?" asked Kukui, genuinely curious. 

"Some folk tink it... uhh... what de kine... unethical. But ya know what I tink?"8

The boys exchanged looks and then shrugged.

"I tink dat a parent beatin' dey own kid half ta death unethical. So fuck te unjust laws n' te fakas dat make dem."

Her blissey used a controlled heal pulse on Guzma's arm over the coarse of twenty minutes.

"Tere. Ta bone get fused enough it stable. Still got ta keep it splinted and take it easy, but won't re-displace." 

Guzma wasn't sure if it was from the heal pulse or just having the large wound closed, but the pain in his arm was so much duller. 

She re-splinted the arm and put the sling back on. She also went to the deep freeze at the side of the room and pulled out an ice pack. 

"Take dis," she said handing him the ice, "Ice te arm ta reduce swelling. It will numb ta pain too. Half hour on, half hour off to prevent frost bite."

"Mahalo", said Guzma, bowing his head. 

She reached over and ruffled his hair. 

"Of course me bruddah. Now we talk 'bout payment."  
She placed a finger on her cheek.  
"OK, I know. When te arm gets bettah, you come back and you work fo' me... t'ree weeks?"

"Shoots!" Guzma answered with a smile.9

She smiled back at him, secretly relieved to see the boy in good spirits. She glanced over at Kukui who was pensively stroking the sleeping wimpod on his lap. 

She took Guzma's left hand and Kukui's right hand in hers.

"Keep ya chins up my bruddahs. I just know tat you both fightahs. Hold onto tat strength in ya hearts 'cuz you will need it fo' te years ta come. Always remembah dat strength and you can do anyting."

Kukui helped Guzma get his hoodie back on and then she walked them to the door. 

"One last ting," she said as the boys started to leave, "Come ta me K.K." 

Kukui walked back over to the door and the girl leaned down to him. She pressed her forehead against his.

"Dis a lot fo' ya, I know. But tat what happen when ya wear ta heart on ta sleeve. You may feel weak now, but you so much strongah ten ya tink. You undah-stand?"

Kukui nodded.

"A'ight. Off wit ya," she said motioning him to rejoin Guzma.

"Take care each uddah!" she called after them.

The boys waved and D.J. threw them a shaka as she closed the door behind her.10

**Author's Note:**

>  **Footnotes:**  
>  **1\. Kanakas:** (Hawaiian) term meaning someone of full Hawaiian heritage (in this case, Alolan heritage)
> 
>  **2\. Lolo:** Idiot, moron, stupid  
> Side note: Oh boy. So D.J.s speech is a Hawaiian Pidgin/creole language. It hopefully makes sense in context but I understand if it's confusing. Also, I've done research to develop her speech but I'm much more use to T&T pidgin so I'm sorry if that slips in without me noticing. Anyway, at the end of the notes, I'll have a list of words like I did with Leon's speech in case anyone needs it.
> 
>  **3\. Tita:** (Hawaiian) A word to describe a woman who is tough and masculine. Although it can have a negative connotation, I attribute it to mean 'a badass'
> 
>  **4\. Tapu Lele:** D.J. uses this tapu's name because she lives on Akala.
> 
>  **5\. Unko:** (Hawaiian Pidgin/creole) Uncle. Sometimes people will refer to their elders (usually unrelated people that are their parents age or older) uncle and auntie. (Hence the reason D.J. got pissed when Kukui called her 'Auntie')
> 
>  **6\. Pau:** (Hawaiian) Finished, done
> 
>  **7\. Faka:** (Hawaiian Pidgin/creole) Fucker
> 
>  **8\. De kine:** (Hawaiian Pidgin/creole) a catch all phrase people use when you can't remember something. Like saying 'the thing!' or 'the whatchamacallit!' or 'the...the...the...what the fuck is it called?!?!'
> 
>  **9\. Shoots:** (Hawaiian Pidgin/creole) An affirmative phrase kind of like saying "Yeah!" or "Awesome!".
> 
>  **10\. Shaka:** (Hawaiian) I guarantee you know what a shaka is, you just never knew the word. Hold your hand with you thumb and pinky out. Rock your wrist back and forth and you got te shaka!
> 
>  **Other notes:**  
>  Bruddah=Brother  
> Fo'=for  
> Ta/te=to or the (depending on context)  
> Tere/dere=there, Tis/dis=this, Den/Ten=then  
> Tink=think  
> Gon'=Going to  
> Uddah=Other  
> Lil/litto=little  
> T'ree=three  
> Learnah=Learner, remembah=remember, bettah=better, fightah=fighter, strongah=stronger  
> Mout=mouth  
> Dey=they, dem=them  
> Someting=something, ting=thing  
> Bebbeh=baby  
> ~~~
> 
> *As always, feedback and comments are always appreciated! Helpful links are below!  
> 
> 
> [Tumblr page for convenient updates ](http://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com)  
> [Master list of terminology](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/615394532986650624/master-list-of-terminology-jolly-rogers)  
> [HCs and Background Info](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/615439164403597312/hcs-and-background-info-jolly-rogers)


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